Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan fully realized the seriousness of the situation and couldn't help but wonder, "Are there really only 100,000 people affected?"
I have a feeling that this number is significantly underreported.
An earthquake is a major disaster in itself, and when you add to that the continuous torrential rain, you can understand just by thinking about it how difficult it must have been for the people of Sichuan.
Putting aside everything else, the number of people who catch a cold alone is not small.
“100,000 is just the minimum number estimated,” Liu An said in a deep voice. “When the secret guards came out of Shu, the earthquake had just happened, and they were soaked in the rain for two days before they left Shu. This number is just an estimate based on his experience.”
"Then how do you know that it's been raining heavily in Sichuan? And that someone has returned?"
"No, it was calculated by the Imperial Observatory," Liu An sneered. "That's all they have left to do."
After two consecutive earthquakes, the Imperial Observatory remained completely silent, as if the ground had collapsed.
It's like wasting money to support a bunch of useless people!
If he can't even handle this small matter, and if he doesn't impeach them all, he'll be sent home to consult fortune tellers; otherwise, he's not Liu!
"The Imperial Observatory knows this?"
"Of course," Liu An snorted. "Divination and divination are the professions of the Imperial Observatory. They failed to predict the two earthquakes. If they make a mistake again this time, I will definitely send all these swindlers back to their hometowns."
Jiang Nuan has always maintained a non-commentary attitude towards these things that are neither believable nor unbelievable, and did not respond.
Liu An didn't pay any attention and continued talking to himself, "I don't know what's wrong with this year, but since spring, I haven't encountered a single good thing. It's been full of disasters. Now is an even more troublesome time."
If the grain in Wolf Mountain hadn't been burned by the powerful families, we wouldn't be completely helpless now.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan stopped in her tracks. "His Majesty summoned me to the palace, but is it because of the grain?"
“Yes,” Liu An said with a helpless expression, “Although the earthquake in Ji was not serious, we still need to deal with the aftermath. We can’t do without food. The same is true for Shu. After such an earthquake, those who were lucky enough to survive it have become refugees. If we don’t handle it carefully, the whole of Shu will riot.”
The people of the Sichuan and Chongqing region are known for their fierce and unruly nature; once an uprising breaks out, no one can predict what will happen next.
“Don’t just focus on food,” Jiang Nuan said, “we also need to deal with relief work, post-disaster reconstruction, and even epidemic prevention.”
"As the saying goes, a major disaster is often followed by a major epidemic, so we certainly need to be more careful," Liu An agreed wholeheartedly, "but..."
"Just what?"
"The earthquake changed the terrain, making it difficult for outsiders to get in. They had to rely on themselves for everything, and probably not many people thought of that."
"Never mind, let's not talk about it anymore," Jiang Nuan said after a long silence. "Let's go to the palace first."
In the imperial study, Ji Xuan sat on the dragon throne with a deep expression.
“Your Majesty,” An Qingyun bowed, “I have already dispatched manpower to organize people to open up the official road to and from Sichuan as soon as possible.”
"I have also ordered people to prepare medicinal materials and have arranged for the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau to go to Shu as soon as possible."
"What about the grain? Do you two ministers have any ideas?"
Upon hearing this, the two immediately lowered their heads.
What can they do?
Originally, the national treasury should not be short of grain after the summer tax was collected, but now they insist on supplying the army in the northwest with grain. In addition, there is still a problem in Shandong. Where can we find any other grain?
If we had the grain from Wolf Mountain, things might not be so difficult. Who would have thought...
An Qingyun has been in politics for decades and has not encountered such a difficult and helpless situation in a long time.
Upon hearing this, Ji Xuan sighed, pressed his slender fingers to his brow, and asked weakly, "How much grain is left in the national treasury?"
"Your Majesty, including those confiscated from aristocratic families, the total is 1.89 million catties."
It sounds like a lot, but in fact it's not enough to go around.
With military supplies in various regions plus officials' salaries, there wouldn't be much left over from these two items alone.
After a long silence, Ji Xuan spoke softly, "Let's think of another way. If all else fails, we should prioritize using the grain from the national treasury in Shu."
“This is absolutely inappropriate,” An Qingyun disagreed. “The people of Shu are suffering greatly, and this old minister is also deeply saddened by it. However, we cannot let the suffering of the thousands of people of the Great Zhou cause harm because of one place.”
“What Elder An said is absolutely right,” Zhong Ping immediately agreed. “Sichuan is the land of abundance, with fertile soil and a suitable climate. Almost every household has surplus grain, so we will surely be able to overcome this difficulty.”
Zhong Ping was extremely unwilling to touch the national treasury's grain reserves.
Most of it contains officials' salaries. If it were misappropriated, countless officials would harbor resentment, which would be very detrimental to management.
As a Grand Secretary, what he feared most was that his subordinates would not cooperate, would not obey his orders, and would not follow his commands.
"You two ministers want me to abandon the people of Shu?"
When Ji Xuan said this, a chilling aura emanated from her.
Even if the emperor's anger doesn't result in millions of corpses and rivers of blood, it still instills fear in people.
Immediately, the two spoke in unison, "That's not what I meant."
They did not abandon these people. Upon learning the news, they immediately sent people to deal with the situation. However, without food, they had no other options.
The earthquake in Sichuan destroyed nearly 20% of the land. Needless to say, the harvest in October would not be good, and it would be impossible to pay enough taxes and grain as before.
It is evident that the tax grain supply in the autumn will be significantly reduced, leading to even greater shortages of grain at that time.
After weighing the pros and cons, the two decided to stick to their opinions.
"That's not what I meant!" Ji Xuan suddenly slammed the memorial on the dragon table down. "You tell me what it means yourselves!"
They'll do anything, except provide food!
However, what's the point of doing all this if there's no food?
You can get through a cold without medicine, and you can carve out a road even if there is none, but you can only starve to death if there is no food.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger," Zhong Ping immediately bowed. "The season is perfect now. Sichuan and Chongqing are mountainous, and food can be found everywhere. We can certainly hold on..."
Before Zhong Ping could finish speaking, Qi Yong couldn't help but interrupt, "Grand Secretary Zhong, are you living in the clouds? How much food can you possibly have on the mountain?"
If it were as good as you say, what simpleton would still toil in the fields? They'd all run off to the mountains where they don't have to pay taxes or go hungry—wouldn't that be better?
“Your Majesty, that’s not what I meant,” Zhong Ping said, sensing that Qi Yong was deliberately going against him. After noticing Ji Xuan’s increasingly cold expression, he quickly explained, “Nearly 60% of the people in the Great Zhou are starving. If Shu can hold out for a few months and get through this period, they can provide them with food.”
Upon hearing this, Ji Xuan scoffed, "How long is this period? A month or two, or a year and a half?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Ping immediately dared not reply.
It's August now, and the weather is still okay, but that's just the beginning. It will only get more difficult as time goes on.
If they truly cannot wait for food, the people of Sichuan may really...
"Your Majesty's feelings are clear to this old minister," An Qingyun said, clearing his throat. "However, even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice, there is really no way to do it."
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